Eureka: Daily discoveries for the scientifically bent

SAME OLD SONG (NOT)

Birds are not born with a song in their hearts or their heads. They must learn them from other birds.

So naturally, it seems only reasonable that these songs evolve, with each generation tweaking tunes to fit their times.

And, in fact, this is what happens, researchers say, though the rate of song-change appears to vary with species.

For some birds, like indigo buntings, a song can change so much that after five years it’s completely different. For other species, the song remains the same. Researchers Eben Goodale of the University of California San Diego and Jeffrey Podos of the University of Massachusetts compared recordings of the medium ground finch (a finch family famously studied by Charles Darwin in the Galapagos Islands) that covered 38 years.

They analyzed elements like number of notes, note duration and trill rate. In a report published in Biology Letters, Podos and Goodale found that in recordings made in any particular year, there was considerable variability, but when longer time periods were compared, some songs remain largely unchanged.

The researchers don’t know why this is true, but suspect it may be due in part to how the finches learn their songs. Unlike many songbirds, who learn from neighbors’ singing, finches pick up their tunes from their fathers.

VERBATIM

“Every generation of humans believed it had all the answers it needed, except for a few mysteries they assumed would be solved at any moment. And they all believed their ancestors were simplistic and deluded. What are the odds that you are the first generation of humans who will understand reality?”

— Scott Adams, creator of the comic strip “Dilbert”

PATENTLY ABSURD

Who hasn’t been cruising down the highway and noticed the side mirrors of their vehicle are too dirty for safe viewing? This device — known as the “Windy Widget” — remedies that problem by employing a towel-like tassel to constantly flap, flail, flop and floss your mirrors to clear away dirt, dust, grime and moisture.

The result: Clean mirrors and complete distraction, enough to make you lose track of the conversation you’re trying to have on your cell phone.

BRAIN SWEAT

Translate these rebuses:

1 knows 2. way or weigh 3. uPLATm

PRIME NUMBERS

11: Age, in millions of years, of a newly discovered species of ancient primate, whose fossil remains were found beneath a Spanish garbage dump in Catalonia

Source: Science

QUIRKS OF NATURE

Scientists at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla say fuller and more detailed genetic analysis indicates there is more than one species of orca or killer whale. Researchers had long suspected as much because killer whales in various parts of the world often exhibit distinct differences in behavior, feeding preferences and subtle but varied physical features.